


Clashing Steel

by Kobadashi



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 04:27:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19099717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kobadashi/pseuds/Kobadashi
Summary: The two remaining swordsmen of a long-running war promise to duel again. Twenty years later, the promise is fulfilled.





	1. Battlefield

**Author's Note:**

> I got the inspiration for this from a myriad of different games with swordplay tbh. Skyrim, Shadow of Mordor, For Honor. Those sorts of things.
> 
> For commission info, check my 'About Me'!

Exactly two decades ago, two swordsmen stood about thirty feet apart, staring each other down. They were the last ones. The last swordsmen? No. Instead, the last soldiers on this battlefield. Men and women alike lay around them, slices and stabs covering them, their swords stained with blood, soaked red like the dirt beneath them. The battle felt like it had lasted forever, when in reality, it was a simple hour long. Within an hour, over three hundred swordsfolk on each side were slaughtered, never to go home to their families again. For some, they were just joining them.

But not these two. They stood there, both panting hard, sweat dripping down their skin. They both knew they must fight, that only one of them would leave there alive, and yet they didn't move. Not out of fright. Out of tensity. Any slight movement from one would warrant immediate attack from the other. And that's why the next move from either one had to be precise, and life-saving.

"Before one of us dies… I feel it would be honorable to exchange names. My name is Blake." One of them said, not moving a millimeter, save for his lips.

"..." At first, the other said nothing. But after a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke. "Tobias." He simply said.

"Well, Tobias. I bid you good luck, and farewell."

Not a second passed, and Blake sword had been unsheathed. He had leaped forward, metal prepared to swipe at Tobias. But, the enemy swordsman was just as fast. His sword had already been brought upwards, meaning the steel blades slammed together with great force. As they stand there, swords together, staring into each other's eyes with a mixture of respect and hatred, a strange sound breaks the silence. The sound of metal cracking and snapping. Just as it reaches their ears, everything above the meeting point of their swords had fallen off. They had, quite literally, cut through each other's swords.

Tobias stepped back, not wanting to be stabbed by Blake. However, that would not be a problem. "...It seems that our weapons have fallen out of use." Blake said, looking down at his broken sword.

"So it would seem." Tobias answered, resheathing what was left. "I will find you again, swordsman. It may take months, years, decades. But I will find you, and we will clash blades again. Sleep with one eye open."

"I look forward to it."

It seems the swordsmen had come to a mutual agreement. Blake found it fate that the swords broke, while Tobias found it disrespectful to fight with a broken blade, even more so steal one from a corpse.


	2. Valley

And so, time passed. Blake had been one of two surviving swordsman of the Battle of Mortem Kings (now called that because both kings died in battle), and had been promoted heavily. Ten years after the battle, he retired with his wife, and had four children.

Tobias, however, had not let his life become so relaxed. For twenty years he trained day in and day out, forging his own sword until it was perfect, training with it until he couldn't move, sleeping for eight hours, and training some more. Life was hell. But now, he was stronger than titanium. He had forged his blade to be just as strong as him. He dueled the most famous swordsfolk he could find, and cut them all down with ease. He was finally ready to go find the one he couldn't kill. Blake.

Despite the two decades, upon hearing there was a swordsman in town looking for him, he knew exactly who it was. Tobias. He had finally come. Twenty years passed, and Tobias still wanted to strike him down. A man of his word, Blake thought to himself, as he sipped his coffee.

After finishing his cup, he gave his possible final goodbyes to his wife, children and friends, and strapped his father's sword to his hip. As Tobias told the messenger, Blake met him in a valley, much like their previous battleground, at exactly midnight.

"You kept your word." Blake said.

"Otherwise would be dishonorable."

"I suppose you're right."

"Are you ready?"

"Well. I've been waiting twenty years, haven't I?"

Tobias said nothing more. Neither did Blake. They both drew their swords, slow as molasses…

Tobias lunged forward, sword prepared to stab into Blake's chest. Blake sidestepped just in time, the blade barely nicking his side, and swiped at Tobias' head. The solemn swordsman had anticipated this. He brought a dagger up with his hand, blocking the sword with great struggle. Tobias went for a swipe at his legs, but Blake jumped over it, and grabbed his wrist. Once he landed, he turned, and picked up Tobias with his back, then slammed him onto the grass. Quickly, he pressed the tip of his sword against his forehead, stopping him from getting up.

"It seems I've won, hmm, old friend?"

Tobias said nothing, and pushed himself forward with his feet. The tip of the blade dragged along his forehead, and down his nose, slicing the fat in half. But Tobias didn't care. Once he was in between Blake's legs, he spun his body, causing his hips to hit the other's ankle with great force. Now, they were both on the ground, Blake partially on top of Tobias.

Quick as always, Tobias rolled them over, so he was on top. He gripped his dagger, and plunged it into Blake's chest. It cracked through the ribs, and stabbed right into his lung. That was it. He had won. The force of that stab made Blake too weak to hold onto his own sword, and it rolled out of his hand.

Tobias stood, taking the dagger with him. He let it drop to the dirt, and held his sword in both hands, upside down, point directly over his heart. "May the lords above have mercy on you, and grant your family with an abundance of love and lack of strain in the trying time of their husband and father's death."

With that, he pushed it down. Blake coughed a splatter of blood, just as his eyes glazed over. Tobias closed his own eyes, and prayed for Blake's soul to be cast unto heaven. After a moment of silence, he cleaned the blood from their blades, and sheathed them in their respective scabbards. He laid Blake's body under the tree, his sword and scabbard laying across his chest.

His promise fulfilled, Tobias walked into the village, and found Blake's home. He gave his condolences to his family, and then, as a last form of respect, he told them of his plans.

Within an hour, he was back at the tree. He kneeled in front of the dead body of Blake, his own sword pointed at his chest, and… plunged it inside. He had nothing to live for, now. He could die in peace, as Blake hopefully did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's... Not my best writing, but I'm happy with my first violence-based fic!


End file.
